Page 298 of The Professor's Wife

A thought moved through me, though it didn’t feel entirely like mine.

I’ve seen you many times before.

It settled there, and I stared at it through the blur of tears and fading light.

The world narrowed. The pain receded. I could feel my heartbeat slowing, each thud softer than the last.

I thought of Oliver.

Of Rowe.

Of the photo.

Of everything I’d run from.

And in that final moment, I knew.

I shouldn’t have run.

I shouldn’t have run.

I should have—

The butterfly stayed with me as the light slipped away. Its wings opened once more.

So thirsty.

So cold.

I couldn’t breathe.

The blackness took over my vision as my last thought raced through me.

I should have fought back.

The In-Between

Darkness only asks us to survive.

Light asks us to discover how powerful we have always been.

PART THREE

MEMENTO VIVERE:

Remember to Live

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

The First Morning

Notes from the dark:

The journey out of the cave is painful, but necessary.

I opened my eyes, gasping for air. I tried to move, but I couldn’t. My mind was strangely quiet despite my nightmare. Vivid and cruel, it called out to me as I lay there, unable to move. Despair and something else foreign tugged at my centre. The anguish was so intense, it was as though I’d lost something intensely profound. I stared up at the dark ceiling, feeling the hot tears slide down the side of my face, pooling around my ears.

Take a deep breath.